Spray head for aerosol valve



Feb. 15, 1966 E. H. GREEN 3,235,140 I SPRAY HEAD FOR AEROSOL VALVE Filed Dec. 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 26 56 38 3 g a 3 24 L544 52 l I //V VA /V701? Feb. 15, 1966 E. H. GREEN SPRAY HEAD FOR AEROSOL VALVE k 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1963 N .2 W Z f N N y F i 0 Wow W /M 4 W [0 W Feb. 15, 1966 E. H. GREEN SPRAY HEAD FOR AEROSOL VALVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 26 1963 United States Patent 3,235,140 SPRAY HEAD FOR AERGSQL VALVE Edward H. Green, 11 Army Trail Road, Addison, Til. Filed Dec. 26, 1963, Ser. No. 333,495 5 Qlaims. (Cl. 222-394) This invention relates generally to packages for enabling the dispensing of pressurized products, and more pan tlcularly, is concerned with a spray head to be used with such a package.

The particular construction of the package with which the invention is concerned comprises a canister of suitable configuration and strength to contain the pressure of the product and having a cover member secured to the top thereof. The cover member has a central upstanding boss with a central opening in the boss, and on the inside of the boss there is disposed a resilient rubber gasket which also is provided with a central hole. The gasket is held in place by means of the flared open end of a housing crimped in place to the underside of the gasket and clamping the same to the lower surface of the top Wall of the boss. A dip tube is connected to the bottom end of the housing, and this dip tube extends down into the body of the canister to enable the pressurized product to come up the dip tube and into the housing. It would be appreciated from the above description that the pressurized product would immediately flow out of the canister by Way of the opening in the gasket and in the boss but for some means to block such flow.

Inside the housing, there is a vertical, reciprocable plunger the upper end of which is provided with a valve seat and the lower end of which is urged upwardly by means of a helical spring disposed inside of the housing and bearing against the bottom of the plunger. The plunger is provided with a socket coaxial therewith and aligned with the axes of the openings in the gasket and in the boss but, it will be appreciated that so long as the sprin. is pressing the plunger against the bottom surface of the gasket, there can be no escape of pressurized product from the canister.

There is provided in structures of this kind a removable spray head in the form of a push button adapted to be manually pressed downwardly for the purpose of dis pensing the product. The spray head normaily consists of a shell having an integral depending stem that is hollow, there being an external, laterally directed orifice adjacent the top of the spray head connected by suitable passageways with the hollow stem. The stem serves normally as an expansion chamber. The bottom end of the stem is provided with a side slot that commences at a point spaced from the bottom and is open to the bottom of the said stem. The diameter of the stem is such that the stem may be inserted through the opening in the boss and tightly engage through the gasket and be seated in the socket of the plunger. The length of the slot is such that a very small portion of the slot extends above the valve seat and into the gasket, but does not extend through the gasket, so that when the spray head is pushed downwardly, at the same time that it unseats the plunger from the bottom surface of the gasket, it will expose the upper end of the slot so that the pressurized material inside of the housing may enter the slot and thence, pass into the hoilow center of the stem and out through the external orifice. 7

Another construction which is used and which is somewhat different is one in which there is a pocket or gallery on the inside of the valve plunger just above the socket so that the slot of the spray head does not extend into the gasket but instead has its upper end terminating below the valve seat but inside the pocket or gallery. Various advantages are attached to such a construction which are not of consequence in this invention.

. more readily constructed.

identify the dimension of the slot as measured horizontally The valves of the above described construction have been used with substantial success for the dispensing of heavy materials, such as paints, lacquers, starches and the the like, in which the material is usually suspended in a carrier and packaged in the canister along with a suitable propellant. One of the problems involved in packages of this type is that the material will clog the slot as a result of drain back into the bottom end of the slot or as a result of adherence of some of the material to the sides of the slot after use.

While the construction which provides for ready removability of the spray head enables one to clean the slot or rotate the head to a new position, this is not as convenient as having the slot in the spray head so constructed that clogging is unlikely to occur.

Another problem is concerned with tllO'SlOt closing throughout a substantial portion of the length thereof,

thereby decreasing the metering which the slot was intended to provide. While normally the upper end of a slot would not usually close, nevertheless when constricted down to a very small opening, the likelihood of ciogging is increased.

The invention herein has as its principal object the provision of a spray head in which the disadvantages named above are less likely to occur than with previous constructions. This is accomplished by having the major portion of the slot substantially greater in width than the upper end of the slot where the metering is actually taking place.

Other objects and advantages will occur to those skilled in the art as a description of the invention is set forth hereinafter in connection with which the drawings illustrate preferred embodiments. In the said drawings, the same characters of reference are used throughout to designate the same or equivalent elements.

In the drawings: 7

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the upper end of a package of the type with which the invention is intended to be used. the construction of the invention not being visible in this view.

FIG. 2 is a median sectional view through the package of FIG. 1 along the lines 22 and in the direction indicated, a portion being shown in elevation and the view being on a somewhat enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally alon the line 33 of FIG. 2 and cated.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2 but on a greatly enlarged scale.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that the invention as applied to a modified form of valve construction.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the bottom end of the spray head constructed in accordance with the invention.

Generally, the invention, as previously indicated, comprises providing the bottom end of the stem with a clean through slot, the major length of which slot is much greater in width than that of the upper portion of the said slot so that there is a plentiful volume of space provided for drain-back, not only from a viewpoint conof the slot but, likewise, considering sidering the filling the adherence of material to the side walls of the slot. In addition to providing the advantages mentioned above, a slot of this type is easier to manufacture because, for the most part, its dimensions are large and the tools are The term width is used to at its axial entrance.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1. there is illustrated a package for pressurized product which, in the in the direction indiof FIG. 4 but showing instance, is represented by a metal canister. It will be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable to packages which are based upon the use of bottles. The package is designated generally by the reference character 20 and the canister itself comprises a lower cylindrical portion, only the upper end of which is shown at 22, having a high pressure dome 24, the upper lip of which is curled as shown at 26 in FIG. 2. The cover member which has been referred to as that article to which the structure of the invention is secured is designated generally by the reference character 30 and the housing mentioned above is designated 52. The spray head of the invention is identified by the general reference character 36. The dip tube which is normally in the form of a soft plastic conduit is designated 34,.

The manufacturer of the complete package is called a filler in the trade and he purchases the canisters or bottles from one source and the valves and spray heads from another. The valve and spray head manufacturer furnishes to the filler an article which consists of the cover member 30 mounting all of the apparatus to be described together with the spray head 36, usually separate from the cover member and its associated apparatus.

The filler fills the can and applies the cover member after which he inserts the spray head. In applying the cover member to the canister 22, the filler causes the curled-over lip 33 of the cover member 30 to be crimped over the curl 26 formed at the top of the dome 24-. Suitable gasket material 46 which has been previously laid into the curl 38 provides the necessary seal at this point.

Looking now at the cover member itself, it will be appreciated that the cover member 30 has an integral annular wall 40 connected with the curl 38 that extends downwardly and thereby provides a well 42 in the center of which there is provided an upstanding, integrally connected, cylindrical boss 44. The entire cover member 30 is made of sheet metal preferably stamped by well known techniques. As previously mentioned, there is a cylindrical, hollow housing 32 having an upper, outwardty flared end 43 and a bottom end the latter being connected with the dip tube 34-. The upper flared end 48 is engaged against the bottom surface of a gasket 52 of rubber or similar resilient material that is disposed in the upper end of the boss 44-, the said gasket 52 being clamped to the upper wall 54- of the boss l by itself being crimped in place, as indicated at 55.

The upper wall 54 of the boss i4 is relieved at 56 to provide an opening through which, as will be shortly noted, the stem of the spray head 36 extends. The housing 32, by virtue of this construction, provides a hollow chamber 58 into which pressurized material flowing up the dip tube 34 may enter. The gasket 52 has a central opening 60 which is coaxial with the opening 56 so that any material which is disposed within the housing 58 may find its way out of the housing and through the cover member by way of the passageways 60 and 56 unless this flow is blocked in some manner, and, as will be seen, this condition will occur under normal operating circumstances.

Inside of the housing 32 is provided a valve plunger '62 the bottom end of which is urged upwardly by means of a helical spring 64 disposed in the housing and engaging the bottom, decreased diameter portion 66 of the valve plunger. There is a flange d8 integral with the valve plunger 62 by means of which the plunger may be guided in its reciprocatory movement up and down and suitable passageways are provided in the plunger to assure that the fluid will flow readily from below the plunger past the flange 68. The configuration is best noted in FIG. 3 wherein a central division '70 is provided.

Looking now at FIG. 4, it will be seen that, in its interior, the valve plunger 64 is provided with a cylindrically shaped socket 72 which opens to the top end or the plunger and extends downward to the point 76 where it forms a floor 77 for a purpose presently to be described.

As mentioned above, the spray head 36 has a hollow depending stem 80, the bottom end 78 of which is chamfered as shown, if preferred, for ease in pushing the same through the gasket 52, and this bottom end 78 seats upon the floor 77 so as accurately to establish the vertical disposition of the spray head stem 3% relative to the plunger 62.

It will be noted that there is a vertical projection 74 that extends upwardly from the floor 77 to assist in piloting the bottom end 78 of the spray head and also to keep the spray head stable upon the floor and prevent collapse of the said end.

The spray head 36 is provided in its stem 80 at one side thereof with a slot 88 that opens to the bottom of the stem. This slot 88 extends upward and its upper end is defined by the reference character 5%. The construction shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 makes provision at the top end of the valve plunger 62 for a pocket or gallery 86 that is an enlargement of the socket '72, so that the fiOOl' 39 of the pocket 35 surrounds the upper end of the socket. Axially spaced upward from the fioor 89 is the end of the valve plunger 62 which provides an annular seat 87 that is engaged normally against the bottom surface )2 of the gasket 52 to seal the interior of the valve plunger from the chamber 58. Entrance to the slot 88 is achieved through the exposed portion of the slot appearing in the pocket 36 as indicated at S' l. Preferably, the upper inner edge of the valve seat 87 is rounded as shown at 96.

In accordance with the invention, instead of having the slot 83 of substantially uniform width, 1 enlarged the same quite substantially throughout its length but for the portion which will be exposed to aerosol product coming from the chamber. Accordingly, it will be noted that the spray head stem St? has the slot 83 in two parts, namely the upper part 91 which is quite narrow and more of the configuration normally used for the dispensing of heavy products of the type previously mentioned and a very wide portion 93 which extends from the narrow portion 91 to adjacent the bottom of the valve stem 80.

Looking at FIG. 6, it will be seen that the bottom of the narrow portion 91 is at the level 9'7 and that the wide portion 93 extends down to the chamfer which is at the end 73 at which points it in itself is slightly widened as at 1%} which enables it to be molded easier.

In order to provide a good understanding of the dimensions involved, I have assigned the letters A, B, B and C to the various parts of the slot for a discussion thereof. A typical spray head stem 8i) of this type would be, say, .123 inch in diameter, and obviously this also will be the approximate internal diameter of the socket 72. The width of the slot 88 at its narrow portion 91, which is designated A, would typically be approximately .016 inch for the dispensing of paint, for example. The vertical dimension of this narrow portion 91 is given at B and would be approximately .020 inch. Only one-half of this normally would be exposed as indicated by the dimension B which would be .010. Thus, for example, in FIG. 4, .010 inch of the slot is exposed above the floor 89 and a similar amount extends below the floor 89 so that the metering entrance 9 actually would be .016 inch Wide and .010 inch in vertical dimension. In order to achieve the benefits of the invention from the level )7 downward, the slot portion 93 has a dimension C which is equal to .027 inch. The width C may be as much as .040 inch with equal effectiveness.

The construction as described achieves the benefits of the invention by providing a sufficient volume of space at the bottom of the stem 8% so that the chances of the slot filling up with drain-back material are remote. Furthermore, the narrow slot portion i l immediately empties itself when spraying is stopped since there is a large space to enable the material to drain oil, and in addition, there is little opportunity for surface tension to retain any liquid in the slot.

In the structure just described, namely the use of the slot of the invention in connection with a valve plunger 62 that has a pocket or gallery 86, it will be obvious that when the stem 80 is fully bottomed in the socket 72 so that the bottom end 78 engages floor 77, the dimension from the bottom end of the stem 80 to the top end 90 of the slot is slightly greater than the full depth of the socket from the floor 89 to the floor 77 while it is less than the distance from the floor 77 to the valve seat 87.

The operation of the structure just described is believed obvious but, a brief comment may be useful. The user presses the button downward with his finger, and the stem 80 pushes the valve plunger 62 against the spring 64. The valve seat 87 which had been sealed against the bottom surface 92 of the gasket 52 moves downwardly oil the surface 92 and the aerosol product passes from the chamber 58 over the valve seat 87 into the pocket 86 through the entrance 94 through the narrow slot portion 91 and into the chamber 82 in the stem 80 and thence, out through the external orifice 84.

The stem construction of FIG. 6 may be used in FIG. 5 with slight changes of dimension. In the case of FIG. 5, the valve plunger 62 has no pocket or gallery 86, but, instead, the socket 72 extends up to the end of the plunger 62 so that the valve seat 87 surrounds the upper opening of the socket 72. In this regard, it is the equivalent of the pocket floor 89 in the respect that the narrow portion 91 of the slot 88 extends above the valve seat 37 to a point 90 which is disposed inside of the gasket 52. In other words, the upper end 90 of the slot 88 terminates above the bottom surface 92 of the gasket so that when the user presses down on the stem 80, it will move the valve plunger 62 against the spring 64- unseating the valve seat 87 and exposing the entrance 94' to the slot portion 91.

Looking at FIG. 6 in connection with FIG. 5, the distance from the floor 77 to the upper end 90 of the slot portion 91 is greater than the distance from the fioor 77 to the valve seat 87. In the example given, this distance will be equal to about .010 inch so that the remainder of the slot portion 91 in the amount of .010 inch is below the level of the valve seat 87. In all other respects, FIG. 5 operates in the same manner as the apparatus described in connection with FIG. 4.

What it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing pressurized products from a container and comprising an aerosol valve construction in which there is a cover member adapted to be sealed to said container, said cover member having a central upstanding boss provided with a central opening, an annular gasket also having a central opening disposed on the interior of the boss, a valve housing mounted to the bottom of the boss and clamping the gasket to the upper wall of the boss with the openings aligned, a spring pressed valve plunger disposed in the housing and having an upper end forming a valve seat with. the plunger and being pressed against the bottom of the gasket and surrounding the opening in the gasket to prevent pressurized material from passing from the housing and out through the cover member by way of the openings, a socket in the plunger having its bottom end closed to form a floor and having its upper end aligned with the openings, a spray head having an exterior dispensing orifice and a hollow depending stem connected therewith, the stem having a diameter to slidingly and sealingly, yet removably extend through the openings and be matingly engaged with the floor of said socket and be securely bottomed therein, said stem having a side slot which extends axially from the bottom of the stem and is open clean through the side wall of said stem for the major part of its length, and the slot extending out of the socket so as to present an exposed entranceway to the interior of said stem when the spray head is pushed downwardly to unseat the valve seat; the invention herein which comprises: said clean through slot having an upper narrow portion which provides internal metering and a wider lower portion extending axially upward for a substantially greater extent than the axial length of said upper portion, said upper portion in turn having an axial length greater than the axial length of said exposed entranceway and said lower portion of said slot, commencing at the bottom end of the said upper portion being of a width substantially greater than the width of said upper portion, no part of said lower portion being exposed during use of the apparatus, and said width dimension being measured horizontally at the exterior entrance of said axial slot.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the width of said lower portion is at least approximately twice the width of said upper portion.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the total axial length of said slot is greater than the depth of the socket.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the total axial length of said slot is greater than the depth of the socket but less than the distance from the bottom of the socket to the valve seat, there being an annular pocket in the valve plunger surrounding the top of the socket and below the valve seat.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which said slot is open clean through the side wall for the entire length of said slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,913,154 11/1959 Kufi er. 3,045,877 7/1962 Green. 3,095,127 6/1963 Green.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING PRESSURIZED PRODUCTS FROM A CONTAINER AND COMPRISING AN AEROSOL VALVE CONSTRUCTION IN WHICH THERE IS A COVER MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE SEALED TO SAID CONTAINER, SAID COVER MEMBER HAVING A CENTRAL UPSTANDING BOSS PROVIDED WITH A CENTRAL OPENING, AN ANNULAR GASKET ALSO HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING DISPOSED ON THE INTERIOR OF THE BOSS, A VALVE HOUSING MOUNTED TO THE BOTTOM OF THE BOSS AND CLAMPING THE GASKET TO THE UPPER WALL OF THE BOSS WITH THE OPENINGS ALIGNED, A SPRING PRESSED VALVE PLUNGER DISPOSED IN THE HOUSING AND HAVING AN UPPER END FORMING A VALVE SEAT WITH THE PLUNGER AND BEING PRESSED AGAINST THE BOTTOM OF THE GASKET AND SURROUNDING THE OPENING IN THE GASKET TO PREVENT PRESSURIZED MATERIAL FROM PASSING FROM THE HOUSING AND OUT THROUGH THE COVER MEMBER BY WAY OF THE OPENING, A SOCKET IN THE PLUNGER HAVING ITS BOTTOM END CLOSED TO FORM A FLOOR AND HAVING ITS UPPER END ALIGNED WITH THE OPENINGS, A SPRAY HEAD HAVING AN EXTERIOR DISPENSING ORIFICE AND A HOLLOW DEPENDING STEM CONNECTED THEREWITH, THE STEM HAVING A DIAMETER TO SLIDINGLY AND SEALINGLY, YET REMOVABLY EXTEND THROUGH THE OPENINGS AND BE MATINGLY ENGAGED WITH THE FLOOR OF SAID SOCKET AND BE SECURELY BOTTOMED THEREIN, SAID STEM HAVING A SIDE SLOT WHICH EXTENDS AXIALLY FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STEM AND IS OPEN CLEAN THROUGH THE SIDE WALL OF SAID STEM FOR THE MAJOR PART OF ITS LENGTH, AND THE SLOT EXTENDING OUT OF THE SOCKET SO AS TO PRESENT AN EXPOSED ENTRANCEWAY TO THE INTERIOR OF SAID STEM WHEN THE SPRAY HEAD IS PUSHED DOWNWARDLY TO UNSEAT THE VALVE SEAT; THE INVENTION HEREIN WHICH COMPRISES: SAID CLEAN THROUGH SLOT HAVING AN UPPER NARROW PORTION WHICH PROVIDES INTERNAL METERING AND A WIDER LOWER PORTION EXTENDING AXIALLY UPWARD FOR A SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER EXTENT THAN THE AXIAL LENGTH OF SAID UPPER PORTION, SAID UPPER PORTION IN TURN HAVING AN AXIAL LENGTH GREATER THAN THE AXIAL LENGTH OF SAID EXPOSED ENTRANCEWAY AND SAID LOWER PORTION OF SAID SLOT, COMMENCING AT THE BOTTOM END OF THE SAID UPPER PORTION BEING OF A WIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID UPPER PORTION NO PART OF SAID LOWER PORTION BEING EXPOSED DURING USE OF THE APPARATUS, AND SAID WIDTH DIMENSION BEING MEASURED HORIZONTALLY AT THE EXTERIOR OF ENTRANCE OF SAID AXIAL SLOT. 